While you can’t get a drink with friends at a bar, why not have a mocktail hour over Skype? Mocktails offer maximum taste, but spare you the hangover (you can always add some alcohol if you want of course)!
Virgin Caipirinha (serves 2)
This is as refreshing as it is easy and you don’t need many ingredients!
What you’ll need:
- 2 limes
- 6 tsp of brown sugar
- Crushed ice
- 1 bottle of ginger ale (I personally love the Schweppes one)
What to do:
Cut the limes into eight wedges each. Put the lime and sugar equally into two glasses. Take a spoon and crush the lime in the glasses a little. Mix the lime juice and sugar. Add the crushed ice and last but not least, fill up the glasses with ginger ale. And voila, your Virgin Caipirinha is ready!
If you fancy some booze in it, simply switch 100ml of the ginger ale with 100ml of cachaça (Brazilian white rum) and your cocktail is ready!
Virgin Piña Colada (serves 2)
This is the perfect recipe if you have some coconut milk leftovers from your weekly curry.
What you’ll need:
- 150 ml pineapple juice
- 50 ml coconut milk
- 25 ml coconut cream (you can also just add more coconut milk or normal cream)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- Crushed ice or ice cubes
What to do:
Mix all the ingredients together, pour into two glasses and add the ice cubes. Enjoy!
If you want to spice things up with alcohol, simply add some white rum (approximately 100ml) to the mix.
Virgin Raspberry Mojito (serves 2)
This is a very fruity mocktail and my favourite for a night-in with the girls.
What you’ll need:
- 40 g of raspberries (fresh or frozen)
- 2 tbsp of brown sugar
- 1 lime
- 2 mint sprigs
- 200 ml ginger ale
- 100 ml sparkling water
- Crushed ice
What to do:
Cut the lime into eight wedges. Put the lime and the sugar equally into two glasses. Crush the lime with a spoon in the glasses and mix up the lime juice with the sugar. Wash the mint sprigs and pick about six leaves for each glass. Put the mint leaves into the glass and add the raspberries. Take the spoon and crush the raspberries a little bit, then add some ice into the glasses and fill up with ginger ale and sparkling water. If you’re not a fan of raspberries, take one mango instead and enjoy a mango mojito.
To make this mocktail a little stronger, switch out the ginger ale for the rum and you have yourself a tasty cocktail.
The Tropical Mocktail (serves 2)
This is a fun experimental mocktail that a friend and I came up with.
What you’ll need:
- 250 ml orange juice
- 250 ml lemonade
- 2 tbsp grenadine syrup
- 1 lime
- Ice cubes or crushed ice
What to do:
Mix up the orange juice, lemonade and grenadine syrup. Press the lime juice into the mixture. Add the ice to the glasses and pour the mocktail equally into both.
To make this into an actual cocktail, just add 100ml of vodka to the mix. Enjoy!
Virgin Mango Margarita (serves 2)
Last but not least, my personal favourite mocktail, the Mango Margarita.
What you’ll need:
- 1 lime
- 30 g sugar
- 2 mangos (alternatively 250 ml of mango juice work too)
- 150 ml orange juice
- 75 ml sparkling water
- Crushed ice
What to do:
Run a lime wedge around the edge of the glasses, then dip the glasses in coarse sugar (or chili, if you like it spicy). Press the rest of the lime juice into the glasses. Mix all the other ingredients together in a blender until the mixture is smooth. Pour into the glasses and enjoy.
Mix it up with alcohol: 50 ml vodka, 50 ml tequila, 75 ml prosecco or sparkling wine instead of the orange juice and sparkling water (you could also leave in the sparkling water and add 100ml of tequila).